I'm a Journalist who loves the city where I was born and raised. The City of Angels!
Here, I document my adventures at work, as well as in dining, museums, red carpets, wine, shopping, and everything else in between.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

"For the next nearly six years, I always assumed I was being recorded in the car and at home. In fact, one of our housekeepers later told me that she had seen a small tape recorder under a side table in our bedroom. Of course, I was always careful to make sure the content of my conversations was very clear."
-EXCERPT from Book "Hiding from Reality"- By Taylor Armstrong.

I love reading memoirs and biographies. Although the whole hype of the Reality Show craze can be annoying sometimes, I have to admit some of my guilty pleasures include watching those shows. I guess its fun to see how women with limitless budgets spend their time and money. Hey, its not my time or my money so spend away!! After a few episodes you realize a lot of these women don 't necessarily lead happy or less complicated lives. But they are fun to watch! They also cry and get angry, only they're in Louboutin heels and private jets. I guess some problems in life can be solved with money, and as my mother says "los problemas con pan son menos."In other words, the hard blows of life are softened with a hefty bank account. However, something like suicide, divorce and abuse will never be soft blows, no matter how much money you have.

When the news hit last year that Real Housewife of Beverly Hills Housewife Taylor Armstrong's husband Russell committed suicide, it reminded us all that these are real women, who are not immune to tragedy, death, and even a sudden change in their financial safety nest.

Taylor Armstrong and Me (Naibe) during an Interview

Armstrong eventually started to openly talk about the abuse she received by her husband, both emotionally and physically. Coming from a background of abuse myself, I was interested in her memoir, and reading about the details of what she went through, why she stayed, and how she is coping now as a single mother.

I was pleasantly surprised by her candidness and how well written the book was. Of course I know celebrities who write memories have ghost writers and editors that help guide them so each sentence sounds polished and perfect. But I have read other memories that appeared to be written by a Junior High School version of themselves (I love ya Kyle Richards but your memoir needs help.)

I actually got to meet Taylor in person during one of my assignments. I was covering a swanky gifting lounge at the London Hotel and she was looking at hats. She even helped me pick one out and placed it on my head with a slight angle so it wouldn't look so dorky.

I wish her and her daughter well, and I hope her book makes other women in abusive relationships realize that they need to, have to, and must get out- before tragedy strikes them or a loved one around them.

Monday, May 14, 2012

This weekend I went to San Francisco to watch my little sister graduate from one of the best Universities of our country: UC Berkeley.

Of course we decided to make an entire weekend trip out of it so my husband Jeff, my daughter Giselle and I went to visit some cool San Fran Spots.

First stop, Sausalito! Sausalito is a San Francisco Bay Area city, in Marin County, California. The community is situated near the northern end of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's a quaint, quiet town with lots of cyclists and cool shops. We had dinner at Scoma- yummy!

Second stop. Berkeley!
Berkeley is the site of the University of California, Berkeley, the oldest of the University of California system. My sister graduated with a degree in Latin American studies. In this unique ceremony my parents got a chance to walk with her on stage and accompany her as she accepted her diploma. They didn't get to graduate from College themselves because they had to work at a young age to help out the family. Never would my mom and pop ever imagine they would walk proudly on a Berkeley stage and accept such a high honor. Remember: Anything is possible! Let's dream big. We were all so proud of her.

Reynoso Sisters- Proud University Graduates!

My parents now have the privilege of saying all of their four daughters have graduated from prestigious Universities. One from Loyola Marymount, two from UCLA (and one moving on to UCLA LAW School), and another from Berkeley. Needless to say, you guys did a great job!

Third stop. Fisherman's Wharf. Its a must stop for tourists visiting San Francisco. We got to see sea lions, eat sea scallops and savor sourdough bread (more on that below!)

Fisherman's Wharf in San Francisco

There are lots of fun specialty shops that sell everything from barrels of candy, to magic tricks. I bought a few salted taffy candies, they have so many different flavors ranging from hot chocolate to bacon maple syrup. Jeff bought me an oyster with a pearl inside that you can turn into a necklace as part of my mothers day gift. The lady told us our "pearl" was a boy, awww just like the one we will be welcoming in a few months.

Who doesn't love Bread? Sourdough is my favorite. At Boudin's they have everything Sourdough. They even have a sourdough chandelier hanging from the Ceiling.

While you wait for your table you can visit the Sourdough museum that gives you a history and science lesson on Sourdough bread. Did you know that Sourdough bread was started by Parisian bakers that moved to San Francisco in 1849? When they tried to make traditional French bread, Wild yeasts in the San Francisco air imparted a unique tang to their traditional bread, giving rise to “San Francisco sourdough French bread" and the mouth-watering, sour-tasting bread was born.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

"The Miracle of Spanish Harlem" is an independent movie starring Kate del Castillo and Luis Antonio Ramos. I was lucky enough to meet both the Writer Carlos Bermudez and the Director Derek Partridge during last months Hispanicize event held in beautiful Miami.

Their movie, which was featured as part of the events Latino Film Showcase, won the events "Best of Film" award, and it was well deserved.

Both Bermudez and Patridge are talented latinos that have worked behind the camera for many years, and are examples of how much our community has to give to Hollywood. During a causal conversation during small breaks at Hispanicize, we talked about family, life in general, and best of all, the PASSION we all share in doing what we love doing.

In this first Part of my Interviews with them, I talk to the movies writer Carlos Bermudez. If any of you are lucky enough to meet them in person you will see how nice, humble and great they are.

Directed by Derek Velez
Partridge Screenplay by Carlos Bermudez

MY INTERVIEW WITH WRITER CARLOS BERMUDEZ:

NAIBE: In a nutshell what is The Miracle of
Spanish Harlem about?

CARLOS: Kate Del
Castillo (Eva) gives (Tito) Luis Antonio Ramos a second chance at love but he
must first overcome a lie and find redemption. This is an emotional drama
about a man that tries to fake his own miracle, only to find a real
one. (Florida Premiere) Cast: Tony Plana, Andre Royo, Fatima
Ptacek, Adrian Martinez, Priscilla Lopez, Geraldo Rivera

NAIBE: I understand the story was inspired by
true events?

CARLOS: Yes, most
of the characters were born from my own personal experience, so I created a
story and plug them in it.

NAIBE: This is an independent movie- how does
that effect casting choices?

CARLOS: In a movie with a
limited budget, it is very hard to go after A-list talent, but in our case,
because of the strength of the script we were able to secure super talent such
as Kate Del Castillo, Luis Antonio Ramos, Tony Plana, Priscilla Lopez and
Adrian Martinez... We also discovered Fatima Ptacek who is now the voice of
Dora the Explorer and someone you'll be hearing from in the near future.
She already did a second movie with me called, ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE.

NAIBE:
Besides writing the script, how else were you involved in the

process of making the movie?

CARLOS: I was on set during
production, but as you know, in feature film your baby is handed over to the
director and the writer peeks in. At this stage of the game, I try to
help out as much as I can to promote the film and seek distribution.

NAIBE: The movie is written, directed, and is
starring Latinos, but its NOT a

"Latino Story"?

CARLOS: No is
not... It's a story that happens to take place in Spanish Harlem. I think
it is a universal story. I'm sure that the frustrations and the elations
felt by the characters, because of their circumstances can happen to anyone
from any racial background.

NAIBE: At what stage of distribution is The
Miracle of Spanish Harlem? When/Where

can Audiences see it? And how can we
"spread" the word?

CARLOS:The producers are in
conversations with a number of companies, but no decisions have been made yet.

NAIBE: Congrats, you won an award at the
Hispanicize film festival in

Miami! Tell us about it!

CARLOS: Because
this film hasn't been out in any venues such as festivals yet, it was great to
get a win, the first time out. $10,000 doesn’t hurt either. I think
that the promotional value we have received from the Hispanicize will go a long
way in channeling this project and securing maximum distribution. I want
to take my hat off to Manny Ruiz, Bel Hernandez and the rest Hispanicize team
for all the hard work.

Watch out for PART 2 of this Entry- when I interview the films Director and self-proclaimed "Greekarican" Dereck Partridge.